DJI Mavic Pro Apps – My Top Picks – Updated!
May 12, 2018There’s no shortage of apps for the Mavic series of drones. Many of them are just fluff where others offer more substance. There are overlaps in features across many apps and it can be difficult to narrow the options to a select few that you’ll really use. I tend to be a bit more picky about my apps, mainly because I have so many on my phone and tablet that just keeping them organized is a pain
Here’s my top picks of DJI Mavic Pro apps. In this post I’ll share the ones I use, when I use them and what I use them for. This post will focus on iOS apps as I use Apple devices. Some of these apps may not have Android equivalents or, if they do, their features, controls and layouts may differ from what you see here.
By the way, apps aren’t the only things you should consider for your new drone. Check out my Essential DJI Mavic Pro Accessories – The Must Haves post for some great ideas.
Update! – Clicking on the image or title of the app will take you to the iOS version. If a version exists for Andriod I will place a link for that below the app description.
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE OUR AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Table of Contents
AirMap
This app is a great place to check for airspace restrictions and to find contact information to request clearance to fly in restricted airspace. It also offers a way to request permission to fly in such airspace electronically from within the app where such a feature is offered. If you’re flying using this app, it will also alert you to other aircraft in the area, that it is aware of, that might post a safety risk.
Features at a glance:
- Real-time feedback of airspace rules (currently has national rule sets for 20 countries)
- Multiple map styles
- Flight patch planning
- Ability to fly from within the app itself
- Request digital authorization for commercial operation in LAANC enabled U.S. airspace
- Send digital flight notices to participating U.S. airports
- Get real-time traffic alerts for nearby manned aircraft
I check this app before each flight.
Get it here:
Autopilot
Autopilot is the “everything, including the kitchen sink” app for creating and executing pre-programmed flight plans. It offers various flight control options that you can set specifics for and then execute whenever and wherever (assuming you’re not in restricted airspace).
Features:
- Multiple aircraft types – 10 different models are currently supported
- Several flight modes (see below)
- Flight school – Tutorials to teach you about each feature from within the app (an internet connection is required).
- GPS or image recognition based motion tracking
- Point of interest features – Many flight modes allow you to select a subject to keep focus on regardless of how the aircraft is flown.
- Airspace (see below)
- Flight dashboard – Provides a single place to view all the details of your flight.
- Preflight planning – Create and share flight plans. Save them for repeated use.
- User accounts – Allows you to create plans on one device and sync to your other devices easily.
- Flight recorder – Automatically records audio, settings, telemetry, commands and control inputs much like an airliner black box.
- Barometric Altimeter (if your device has one) – Increases altimeter accuracy.
- Smart Gimbal – The app can control the gimbal for you or you can tilt your phone or tablet to control
Flight modes include:
Black Box – Fly with the remote while audio and telemetry are recorded by the app.
Focus – Fly with the remote while the app controls the gimbal.
Follow – Follow a subject at a specified bearing angle, altitude and distance.
Orbit – Just like follow but the bearing angle changes based on a clockwise or counter-clockwise pattern.
Target – The app will fly to a target location and altitude.
Zip Line – Just like target but adds a second point so now the aircraft is flying to one point but maintaining focus on a separate point.
Pano – Builds on Target by taking a series of pictures to be stitched together into a panoramic image.
Waypoint – Builds on Zip Line by adding multiple points creating a path for the aircraft to follow.
Cruise – Allows you to fly with the remote while the app controls the throttle, pitch/roll and yaw.
Mimic – Allows you to use your phone or tablet to control the aircraft by simply tilting your device left, right, forward and backward (an alternative to using the sticks).
Intercept – Simply point your phone or tablet in any direction as if it were a laser pointer. The app will control the drone and will attempt to intersect the imaginary line.
Another feature offered by Autopilot is the Airspace option. This allows you to network with other Autopilot (or the free Airspace app) users to share the locations and coordinate flight plans of multiple drones. You can even set one drone to target, track, follow, etc. another within the Airspace environment to get that cool shot of another drone performing whatever maneuver, etc.
I will use this app when I need to get that specific shot that requires precise flying or involves one or more additional drones.
There is another app, Litchi, that offers similar features (although I’m not sure about the Airspace one) and is your only true competing option for Android users as Autopilot is iOS only. Litchi offers iOS and Android versions. When I was doing my initial research before buying, I determined that Autopilot offered more control and that’s why I chose that one. Both have a large following. I recommend you check them both out and decide for yourself.
Get it here:
Sorry, there is no Andriod version at this time. Check out Litchi as an alternative option.
B4UFLY
This app is provided by the FAA and is a great place to check to make sure you are not flying in restricted airspace. You can also “plan a flight” to see if make sure there aren’t any upcoming restrictions for the date you are planning to fly. If there are restrictions it will list them and provide information on the parties to contact for clearance (i.e. airports, heliports and so on).
Features:
- Provides information on operational restrictions
- Uses color-coding and shapes to indicate if model aircraft operation is prohibited, requires certain actions to be taken or if no restrictions are present.
- Provides limited information on nearby facilities that may need to be contacted before flight, etc.
I usually pop into this app before any flight just to make sure I’m in the clear as far as the FAA is concerned.
Get it here:
DroneBase Pilot
DroneBase Pilot is the app for DroneBase pilots. DroneBase offers a way to make money with your drone through Client Missions, Getty Missions and other missions. You can look for missions, accept missions and more using this app.
Features:
- AirCraft – Augmented reality feature that allows you to build virtual objects in the sky and fly in and around them
- Upload 4K video directly to Getty Images and have your work featured and sold
- Missions – Identify, highlight and manage nearby missions
- Track mission progress, earnings and more
For more information on DroneBase see my post DroneBase – Make a Little Money on the Side.
Don’t forget, if you’re using your drone to make money in the US you need to have your FAA Part 107 license (at least to do it legally. For more information on this see my post Get the FAA Drone License – Make Money Legally with Your Mavic.
I only use this app when flying a DroneBase mission.
Get it here:
DJI GO 4
This is the main application most people use (at least at first) with their Mavic. It offers direct control of your drone, Intelligent Flight Modes and allows you to set various options (video mode and frame rate, still image mode and options, etc.). It also offers flight logging and tutorials on various features and operation of the Mavic.
Features:
- Complete setup of your DJI Mavic Pro camera settings – Video and picture formats, frame rates, exposure, and so much more
- Complete setup of your DJI Mavic Pro drone characteristics – Return to home settings, control stick settings, hardware calibration options, battery settings, flight restrictions (altitude limits, advanced modes, etc.) and so on
- Intelligent flight modes – QuickShot, ActiveTrack, TapFly and so on. For a complete list see my post What is the DJI Mavic Pro – Only One of the Best Drones Ever!
This is the app I use the most. Mainly because I’m so used to it and it offers what I need to get the job done (even if that job is simply to enjoy flying my Mavic) most of the time. I also like using the built-in flight log (My only gripe is if I use other apps those flights will not make it into this log so there are times when some flights won’t be in the log. This is not DJI Go 4’s fault, it’s more of other apps not integrating with DJI’s logging solution – I don’t know if that’s the app developer’s choice or if DJI hasn’t opened their log system to developers).
Get it here:
DroneDeploy
DroneDeploy is a cloud-based platform for aerial data, mapping and 3D modeling. You can use this app to do all sorts of neat stuff from fathering data and images for crops to making high res maps and 3D models. You can simply do this for fun or you can take a stab at using it for the following fields:
Agriculture, construction, surveying, mining, insurance, inspections and many more.
Features:
- Compatibility with multiple aircraft
- Simple flight planning
- Auto flight and camera settings
- Automated pre-flight checks
- Automatic takeoff and landing
- Auto exposure settings
- Multi-flight mission support and starting way point selection for continued missions
- Offline flight capabilities
- Customizable parameters
- In-app support (Paid)
- Generate and view a map as your drone flies (Paid)
- Measure elevation, distance and area
- Analyze elevation, crop health and point clouds (Paid)
- Share maps, annotations and messages
- Upload imagery to process high resolution 3D maps
- Process ground control point to create high accurate maps and models
- Export data in multiple formats
I’ve played with this just for fun but it’s a serious app if you want to get into it. Check it out and see for yourself.
Get it here:
DroneUp
I got this app for one reason. It’s was designed to allow the drone community to offer their assistance during a crisis or emergency situation. It doesn’t just hook you into the community off the bat. It was actually put together with thought and safety in mind.
Update! – This community does so much more than simply volunteer. It offers excellent training, check out my Get the FAA Drone License – Make Money Legally with Your Mavic post. They also match pilots to missions (paying ones too!). They are definitely worth checking out.
Features:
- Opportunities to offer your assistance in a crisis or emergency
- Regular drills and training exercises to ensure you are “mission ready”
- Secure chat channels for drill and mission participants/commanders
- Free basic UAS operations training and quizzes
- Free top-quality Part 107 training and sample test
- Current weather information
- Airspace awareness
If you want to offer your assistance, should the situation arise, get this app. You never know when you might be called upon to help find someone lost in the woods or help search for flood victims, etc.
Get it here:
Hangar 360
This app is from the makers of Autopilot. It’s sole purpose is to control the drone, take off and ascend to a predetermined altitude, take the shots necessary, land, upload the images and generate a panoramic image from those shots.
It’s a “push the button and go” type of app. Nothing to set and nothing to really do but watch. That said, it makes excellent panoramas and is a great addition to anyone’s drone app list.
Features:
- Automatic flight control from takeoff to landing
- One-touch transfer of your photos to the cloud for processing
- Automatic creation of interactive aerial 360 images that work on mobile and desktop, including zoom, gyro device control, touch swiping and more
- In-app viewing, direct sharing to Facebook as a 360 interactive photo or the ability to share with others directly
I use this when I want to create a quick, good quality panoramic image.
Get it here:
Sorry, there is no Andriod version at this time. Check out Litchi as an alternative option.
Airdata HD Sync
HD Sync is a tool to automatically sync your DJI Go 4 Flight Logs to Airdata’s database. Airdata offers a drone management platform which you can use to analyze your flights, check on your battery performance, maintain a maintenance log and much more. Some features are free and others require a paid subscription. All in all it gives you great insight into your drone. The trick to keeping your Airdata data up to date is to first sync your DJI Go 4 flight log and then run this app to sync that log with Airdata. Please note if you use other flight apps that don’t sync logs with DJI, those flights will not be included in the Airdata sync.
Features:
- One-touch sync between DJI’s flight log and Airdata’s database
I use this app after every flight.
Get it here:
Kittyhawk
Kittyhawk is basically the one app that does it all when it comes to pre-flight, in-flight and post flight operations. It aims to bring the best features other apps designed for each operation separately into one single app.
Features:
- Mission planning
- Weather
- Airspace
- Checklists
- Risk assessment
- Maps
- LAANC (coming soon)
- Flight Deck
- Battery detection and logging
- Real-time airspace deconfliction
- Flight timers
- Digital notice
- Airpace and real-time traffic information
- Telemetry
- DJI import and flight sync
- Flight playback with telemetry and reporting
- Aircraft stats
- Much much more
I haven’t used this as much as I should and plant to start using it more. I just need to see if the logging syncs in both directions with DJI or if it only downloads from DJI and then maintains its own logs for flights conducted in the app.
Get it here:
Pix4Dcapture
This app is basically a competitor to DroneDeploy. It offers much of the same features. I have it in my arsenal simply to play with it and eventually narrow my options down to one of the two options. I just haven’t had the time yet to really compare them both and make my determination.
Features:
- Compatibility with multiple aircraft
- Fully automated drone mapping
- Telemetry and camera live feed during mapping flight
- Multiple flight plan options
- Customizable flight parameters for each mission
- Save/duplicate missions
- Automated image transfer
This is another one I got just for fun but plan to dig into a bit deeper to see if there’s more here that I might want to explore.
Get it here:
PolarPro Filter Calculator
This is not a drone app in the usual sense. It doesn’t control your drone or report airspace information. What it does do is help you to determine the correct filter to use for various camera settings. Technically this should work for any filter brand but it is provided by PolarPro and I do use their filters on my Mavic. You can find them here: Polar Pro DJI Mavic Filters – Cinema Series – Vivid Collection.
Features:
- Filter guide
- Wind and weather forecasts
- KP index
- Programmable alerts for golden hour
I use this one occasionally, however since I’m a photographer, I usually already know what filter I’m going to be using based on the lighting conditions and camera settings.
Get it here:
Preflight Checker
This app is rather new to me but I like it just for giving me peace of mind. It will check a multitude of things on your drone to make sure you’re good for flight. Once the check is complete it will notify you of it’s findings and offer to launch the DJI Go 4 app so you can start flying right away.
Features:
- Multiple drone support
- Battery checks
- GPS checks
- SD card checks
- Temperature
- Flight assistant
- No-fly zone checks
- Weather information
- Much more
This one I use before every flight.
Get it here:
Sorry, there is no Andriod version at this time.
UAV Forecast
This is my go to app for making sure environmental conditions are favorable for a good flight. It offers quite a bit of information including visibility, wind, xxx. You can get current conditions or take a look at the forecast if you’re planning to fly at a later time. This is a definite “check before you fly” app.
Features:
- Weather forecasts
- GPS satellite visibility
- KP index
- No-fly zones and flight restriction information
- Sunrise and Sunset information
I use this before every flight.
Get it here:
Verifly
Verifly is an on-demand insurance service for drone operators. You can select an area, range of time and coverage amount. Once done, you will then be presented with a price. If you accept, you will be covered for covered incidents that arise from operating your drone in that defined area during that time range. Depending on your operation, on-demand insurance may fit your needs nicely.
Features:
- On-demand insurance coverage
- Ability to add additional insureds
- Indoor flight insurance option
- Proof of insurance certificate
- Recreational and commercial insurance options
- Up to 2 mile coverage
- Up to 8 hour coverage time
- Instant price quote
- Multiple drone support
- Timer and notifications alert you to time remaining
- Coverage for injuries to people, damage to property and unintentional invasion of privacy
- Accidental flyaway coverage
I’ve used this one occasionally. It’s really convenient but I don’t need insurance all the time.
Get it here:
Conclusion
There you have it, my top picks for DJI Mavic Pro apps. These are the apps I have on my device. There are many more out there that may do similar things as the ones listed here. I chose these apps because they work well, cover my needs and tend to be problem free.
Most of the time I fly using DJI Go 4 and that’s mainly because I like the logging feature and so I avoid using other apps that don’t sync with DJI logging service to control the actual flight. I will use them to control my Mavic, as in the case of Autopilot, when I need the power their features offer that DJI Go 4 simply doesn’t.
If you know of an app that you believe is worthy of mention, disagree with my assessment of an app listed above, or just want to say how awesome of a post this is please comment below. I do review comments before they are made visible to the public but, once approved, they will be displayed.
If you feel I’ve missed anything, disagree with my post or have
additional items you think should be included please comment below. I
do review comments and once approved they will be visible on this post
for others to see.
Thank you,
Scott Hinkle
MavicManiacs.com
I enjoy to read this kind of posts, becuase when it´s about written by own experiences you can have more options to compare and to see at detail about all the characteristics of the product and which one is better adapt for your needs.
I´m not a professional in the subject of drones and apps for it, but now I can know a little thanks to you. 🙂
Any time man. My hope is to make people aware of the options out there and, hopefully, maybe have someone respond with their favorites. I like being introduced to something I haven’t yet tried or maybe even known about.
If/when you get a drone come on back here and let me know which one you chose and how you like it.
Thank you
Hi, Scott.
Paul here from Ontario, Canada.
You have a great topic and one that more and more people, I think are looking at.
Who doesn’t want a Drone?
I came across your site through a search for opinions and questions regarding Drones. I landed on this page and to be completely honest with you, the content (very well written and accurate I’m sure) was way over my head.
I like the site but would love a little bit more direction as to where to start. I know not too much about Drones and even less about the million plus Apps out there.
Where on your site would you recommend a newbie in search of a Drone to start?
I would probably first off be interested in learning the legalities of owning and operating a drone.
Any information and guidance that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanking you in advance.
Paul from Canada.
Hello Paul,
Thanks for taking the time to reach out and ask questions. That’s my true goal here with this site. Get people engaged, sharing their tips and techniques and asking questions!
You asked a tough one here….where to start. I guess, if they’re looking to get a drone, I’d start them out here: DJI Mavic – Which One to Choose. DJI is arguably the consumer drone leader at the moment and their Mavic series is a great starting point. If they were looking to make money with their drone then I would send them here DroneBase – Make a Little Money on the Side and here Get the FAA Drone License – Make Money Legally with Your Mavic (if they were based or planning to work in the US).
As for legalities, you’re best off reaching out to the government entity that manages airspace in whatever country you plan to operate in. In the US it’s the FAA and they have rules and regulations regarding drones, airspace and intended use (i.e. commercial operators must follow rule set X where hobbyist must follow rule set Y, etc.). Laws are constantly being drawn up for drones and, sadly, I expect it to get worse before it gets better.
Please feel free to reach out any time.
Hi, Scott.
Wow!
Thank you for providing the links specific to the questions I asked. I’m sure they will come in handy for others that may be new to the world of drones and looking for similar answers.
Regarding legalities…what you say makes complete sense.
Just out of curiosity, do you have a FAA Drone License or is that something you are working toward?
I’m totally fascinated by the ‘Bird’s Eye View.’
Great website by the way.
To your success,
Paul.
Hey Paul,
Glad I could help.
I actually do have my FAA 107 ticket and will have to renew next year.
Thanks for the compliment on the site. I hope you come back to see what’s new every now and then.
Great article Scott, actually, all your picks are great, but as for me, I have fallen in love with DJI GO 4-DJ and Autopilot mainly because of their variety modes and features. But what if I have an Android phone or tablet? would you please also do a review on DJI Mavic Pro Apps that are compatible with Android devices.
Hello there. You’re right, this post focuses on iOS device apps. This is just because it’s what I have. I actually don’t have any Android devices and, thus, no experience with the apps associated with them. That said, most of these apps have Andriod counterparts. They may not function exactly the same as their iOS brethren but should be close enough as they’re made by the same company.
I am going to update this post to include the Andriod links, if they exist. It may be a day or so before you see the updates here as I have to find all the links and make a few changes.
Thank you.
Hello again,
I just wanted to follow up and let you know that I have now updated my article with links to the Android versions of the apps as well. I think there were only three that didn’t have both iOS and Android versions. Check them out and let me know what you think.
Thank you.